


Stay

by Writinginstardust



Series: Fictober 2019 [8]
Category: The Aurora Cycle - Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Genre: Comfort, F/M, Hugging, Late night talks, M/M, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed, gender neutral reader, soft, that's where the MCD comes in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-08
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-27 14:30:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20949944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Writinginstardust/pseuds/Writinginstardust
Summary: You're tortured by nightmares and memories of being taken over by the Ra'haam. One night Tyler hears you screaming and comes to your room. Hugs and comfort work wonders to make you feel better and Tyler finds himself staying the night.





	Stay

_The blue pollen was eating through my suit. It was sticking to my skin, sliding down my throat, eating me from the inside out and the outside in. There was no escape, no cure, no hope. I was alone and I was dying. No. not dying. Something worse. I was changing, assimilating, becoming one with the very creature that was destroying me. My memories faded. My free will slipped away. I forgot who I was, what was happening, why I was here. I stopped fighting. There was calm, belonging. I wasn’t me anymore, I was something else. Ra’haam. We were strong. Together. _

Kill. _There was an order but I was still alone. I didn’t know who sent it but I obeyed. People. Seven of them. They were running, screaming. At me? _

“(Y/N)!” _Was that who I’d been? Did i know these people? It didn’t matter._ Kill. _The order again. There was a gun in my hand. I shot. A girl screamed. She fell. I felt her joining us. _Cat. _Wait. I knew that name. She was my friend. These were my friends. _

“(Y/N)!” _Another yell. That was me. I remembered who I was. I couldn’t kill these people. My mind was my own again. My body was not. I cried as I - we - fired again._

_“I’m sorry!” It was all I could offer. Another fell._ Finian. _I felt him join us. Scared, reluctant. My vision blurred. It didn’t matter. The Ra’haam didn’t need my eyes, only my hand. The rest fell, one by one. I felt it every time the Ra’haam took hold. _Scarlett. Aurora. Kal. Zila. _I screamed in anguish. Only one remained. _Tyler._ He barreled into me, forcing the gun away from his chest. Drawing his own. Clarity came. He could end this._

_“Kill me. Please,” I begged with what little will I had left._

_“No. (Y/N), fight it. Don’t let it take you!” Something wet dripped onto my cheek._

_“It’s too late. Kill me or I’ll kill you. Please.”_

_“I can’t.” His hold on me weakened. That was all the Ra’haam needed. _

_“Tyler!” My scream wasn’t enough to stop it. I shot him. I felt his presence in my mind. He wrapped around me. Soothing. Forgiving. I stopped struggling. There was nothing left to fight for. I screamed in anguish and the world was dark._

*

I woke up screaming, as I had every night for 2 weeks. The squad had only saved me and defeated the Ra’haam a fortnight ago and it still haunted me. The doctors said it would take a while to recover but that I would. I didn’t think they were right. That feeling was something you couldn’t forget, it would stay with me forever.

My door swooshed open and I looked up to find Tyler in the door, worry in his eyes.

“(Y/N), are you okay? I heard screaming.” I was not in fact okay and he seemed to realise this after a moment of silence. My body was still shaking with the terror of the nightmare, my breathing coming in shallow, erratic puffs. He came into the room and perched on my bed.

I threw myself into his arms, clutching him tightly like a lifeline, like I’d be safe so long as I was with him. There was no hesitation. He wrapped his arms around my shaking frame, stroking my hair soothingly. Tears that had been building slipped out and soon his shirt was soaked through with them but he paid it no mind, just held me until my sobs subsided and I began to pull away slightly on my own.

“Nightmares?” I nodded. “How often?”

“Every night.” He pulled me back into his arms.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered into my hair. “I’m sorry we couldn’t stop it and I’m sorry it took us so long to fix things.”

“Don’t blame yourself. Please.”

“How can I not? I failed you.” I pulled back again.

“Tyler, you _saved_ me. Even before you defeated the Ra’haam, you saved me. You’re what stopped it consuming me entirely. I fought it because of _you._” I smiled weakly and wiped away the tears that were brimming in his eyes. “You can’t blame yourself for everything that goes wrong.” He let out a breath and some of his tension went with it.

“I know.”

“Good.” I studied him for a moment. The dark circles under his eyes, the unusual pallor to his skin, the rumpled appearance of his clothes and hair. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” He was lying.

“You should sleep.”

“Will you be okay?” I nodded, though I wasn’t sure if it was true. “…Okay. Goodnight then.”

“Good night, Tyler.” He got up and I immediately missed him as the fear that came with the thought of sleeping crept in. He was at the door when I stopped him. “Wait.” He turned back to me. “Can you- Can you stay?”

“Of course.” He walked back over to my bed and I shuffled over to make room while he toed his shoes off. Sliding under the duvet, Tyler wrapped his arms around me again and I rested my head on his chest. I felt better immediately. “Go to sleep (Y/N). I’ll be here.”

I was already so tired from two weeks with barely any sleep that I couldn’t have argued if I wanted to. My eyes drooped and within a matter of minutes I was drifting off to sleep, Tyler’s warmth and the reassurance of his strong arms around me making me finally feel safe. The nightmares couldn’t touch me while he was there.

“Thank you,” I whispered as my consciousness started to fade away. I missed what Tyler said in response but it didn’t matter anyway. Not really. I finally slept. For the first time since Tyler had saved me I slept the rest of the night through, undisturbed by nightmares or the horrifying memories. I was safe now. Tyler was with me. In his arms, none of it could hurt me anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't do a whole bunch of hurt/comfort anymore but damn do I love it.


End file.
